Jeff for America

Welcome! This is my 100th post on Jeff For America. I felt compelled to reflect, especially since this is that time of the year for me. I always get really reflective at the end of a school year. Sometimes I wonder what will happen to me when I stop being a student or teacher and my year cycles in January. I think I’ll just have to get over the inclination to make slideshows and write thank you notes to people in June.

Anyway, I’m getting off topic again. About a year ago, I started this blog without many expectations – I wanted to share my new life in Philadelphia with my family back home, and I needed to have some record of my first year of teaching. For a while there, my sharing was limited to short, infrequent posts about large chunks of time. During the summer, I found myself relying on lengthy posts about an entire month. I realized, though, that this blog would serve neither purpose if I didn’t make it accessible and at least somewhat interesting to read. I also realized that there were other people out there who might benefit from a little encouragement and who could empathize with my own experiences in the classroom. What started as a small, closed community has grown into something more meaningful to more people than I expected.

Over the last year, Jeff For America has been visited nearly 8,000 times by hundreds of unique visitors. On a busy day, the site can register over 100 views and during my most frequented month (Feb 09) I had nearly 1,300 hits.

The numbers themselves don’t mean much, but it does encourage me to continue sharing. From my close friends and family abroad or in California, to my fellow teachers in Philly and to the random visitors that send me messages of encouragement – Thank you! I have enjoyed sharing my life and the experiences of my students with you over the last 100 posts.

Many more to come!

- Jeff